Rise of the Black Quartet
by calmconner15
Summary: a year has passed since the original story, and the world has been peaceful. however, black mage production has begun again for a mesterious new enemy
1. Chapter 1: New Orders

Chapter 1: New Orders

"Has that new order arrived yet?"

"Nope, not yet..."

"Well what the hells taking so long? Them slugs from Dali not make'n 'em fast enough?"

"I don't know boss...i just know that someone high up in Alexandria is getting peeved at us."

two men stood in a were-house south of Alexandria castle. They waited impatiently near a large

open door, apparently waiting for a cargo ship of some kind. The larger man, Wedge, stood leaning against the were-house wall, while the smaller man, Biggs, stood near the open door. Wedge looked

out the door and leaned back, huffing.

"This is starting to piss me off...how long does it take to get them here?" he said, looking

angrily at Biggs.

"Well wedge, i cant tell you...I'm not there to make em work." Biggs sighed. In the distance, the

soft _whurr_ of propellers could be herd. Biggs and Wedge looked out and both heaved a sigh. A

wooden airship flew lazily towards the were-house, dropping altitude as it got closer. It landed outside

with a thud and an old man climbed down.

"Sorry fer the wait boys...had a bit o' trouble with the engine." he wheezed. Wedge rolled his

eyes.

"Just get the cargo door open so we can get these things out..." he said, walking around the

back. The old man nodded and climbed back up into the ship, opening the door to the rear of it. In the

ship were massive barrels and coffin shaped boxes.

"Ugh...i hate looking at these things...they always give me the creeps." Biggs said, lifting up

one of the boxes. He started down the ramp and came close to tripping over a rut in the ramp.

"Careful with that Biggs! Thats our ass your carrying!" wedge snapped, laying down a barrel so

he could roll it out. Biggs nodded and walked carefully to the were-house. He set the box down gently

and walked back to help Wedge.

"So, uh...who exactly wanted these things?" the old man asked, watching the two work.

"Thats classified info, gramps." Wedge said, pushing the barrel down to Biggs. Biggs caught it,

and started to roll it to the were house. Wedge lifted up a box and started to carry it, but as he did, he

tripped over the same rut that Biggs had.

"W-whoa!" he yelled, falling off onto the hard ground. The box fell with him, smashing open

beside him.

"Ah, damn it all!" he yelled, looking at the crumpled frame of the black mage. "This is just fan-

fucking-tastic!" he yelled, kicking the mage in the side.

"Careful Wedge, you might break it..." Biggs said in a hushed voice. Wedge scoffed and lifted

it up.

"You cant break dolls, dumb ass." he muttered, heaving the mage's body to the were-house. The

two of them continued to unload the ship till the sun rose over Alexandria castle, far in the distance.

The sun shone in through the cracks of the were-house walls. The mage that Wedge had tossed

aside moaned and got up. He sat down, rubbing the back of his head.

"Where am I?" he muttered. He stopped rubbing his head ,and looked around for his hat. He

lifted up the tattered, steepled hat and adjusted the tip of it so that it would fall to the side. He stood up,

a bit shakily, then looked around him.

"What are all these boxes?" he said, shaking a few of them. He turned and bumped into a a

large shelf, causing a couple of the boxes stacked up to fall beside him. He let out a little yell as he

jumped sideways. The box cracked open and the mage peered at it. He looked around and found a stick

and stuck it in the crack, and pried it open. He gasped in horror as he saw another mage.

"W-what is this?" he muttered, stepping back. He looked around at the massive amounts of

coffin-like boxes. He lifted up the stick he used to break the lid off of the first box and ran to the door

of the were-house, banging on it, trying to get it open. After a few hours of banging, he finally broke

off many of the boards, giving him a small squeeze space to get out of. He slipped through, ripping his

cloak on the broken wood, but he didn't care. He was out. He turned to a road and started to follow it,

but froze when he heard voices. He lept behind a bush and watched as two men walked towards the

were-house.

"Wedge, I'm telling you that no one went in there."

"i don't care...something don't feel right, and i wont rest till i check it out."

the two men reached the building, and the mage could hear the larger man curse out loud. The

mage shook a bit and took off down the road, leaving the two mean to themselves.


	2. Chapter 2: Lucky Encounters

Chapter 2: Lucky Encounter

the mage walked through the forest ,moving his head from side to side, checking the surroundings. The woods were peaceful, and a soft breeze blew through the tree limbs. The mage wandered along a dirt path, that apparently led to somewhere outside the forest. He took a turn from the rad and found a small brook. He knelled down and got some water out the stream and drank a few handfuls. As he finished, he looked into the stream, and saw a black faced creature with glowing yellow eyes staring back at him. He lept up, startled by this monster, but as he looked back into the stream, he realized it was him.

"hmm...what am i?" he asked, poking his cheek. He felt his hat and took it off. Instantly the shadow around his face disappeared, revealing a young man with slightly tanned skin and snow white hair. His amber colored eyes seemed to shine in the water, much like they did with his hat. He admired the handsome boy in the stream until he saw a strange mark on his forehead. It was shaped like a tiny circle with three marks coming out of it, in a triangle shape. In between the three marks was a circle, each one colored blue, red, and yellow. He fingered the mark and shrugged, putting his hat on the ground. He took of the large blue coat he was wearing and examined it as well. He didn't remember ever beginning given it, but he knew it was his. He looked it over, and it seemed to be a bit dusty. As he looked at the sleeves, he noticed another strange mark on the shoulder of the sleeve, followed by a group of numbers.

"# 7993 ...i wonder what that means..." he muttered. He shrugged and put the coat back on, and lifted up his hat. He looked around and found the road again, and started to follow it. He walked at a slower pace, letting the wide-brimmed hat drag the ground. He saw an opening at the end of the woods and he sighed. He walked a bit more briskly towards the edge of the woods, and marveled at the extraordinary view as he came out. He looked over a massive cliff to the plains beyond, and to the left, there was a massive castle with a gleaming sword sticking out of the top. He started towards the castle, as if he was drawn to it, but he stopped when he heard a small scream. He turned and saw two children running away from a large pack of Fangs.

"uh oh..." he muttered, and looked around for someone that may be coming to help. When he didn't see anyone, the mage took off after them, lifting up the stick he had carried wit him. He caught up to the pack of monsters when one of the children, dressed in blue and wore a hat much like the mage's, had tripped and laid there, a bit helplessly. The other one, a girl with purple hair and a small horn growing out of her forehead, stood in front of the fallen one, as if defending him. The mage lifted up the stick and hurled it at the monsters, striking one in the head. The fang he hit turned slowly, letting out a deep growl. It was large than the rest of the pack, and its temper matched its size. The monster let out a howl and the pack charged at the mage.

"uh-oh..." he muttered, as he turned to run. He turned too late, and the pack had lept onto him. He swung his arms as he tried to bat away the bitting monsters, but it didn't help. One latched onto his arm and blood poured from his wounds. As he fought, a small voice flashed through his mind.

"kill..." he heard it, but he didn't quite understand it.

"kill..." it said again, and the mage could feel a slight rage building up, almost as if he was loosing control.

"kill..." he said in a monotone voice, his eyes fading into a dull gleam. He started to stand and as he did he held up his free hand and fire flew from it, singing the face of the alpha fang. He faced the rest of the pack around him, and moved in a zombie like manner.

"kill..." he said, holding out his hand again. Fire flared in his palm and lashed out, setting the hair of one of the lesser fangs on fire. The fangs barked and yapped, but the alpha fang lept at him, latching onto his wounded arm again. The mage didn't flinch, but instead swing his arm sideways ,and letting fire fly from his palm, engulfing his sleeve and the fang in crimson flames. The fang yelped and fell, trying to run on it singed legs, but the mage stomped on one of its many tails, and held his hand out at the back of its head.

"kill..." he said quietly, and fire engulfed the wolf-like creature. The fang ceased moving and the mage looked slowly to the two children. The smaller mage had gotten up and watched from behind the girl. The mage walked slowly, still in a puppet like state, towards the smaller mage. As he did the girl grabbed him and ran.

"some on Vivi, we gotta go!" she yelled, dragging him to the castle. The mage stared for a second, then snapped out of his trance. He looked around and saw the burnt body of the fang and cringed a bit. He didn't like to see dead animals. He looked away and started towards the castle again.

As he walked into the streets of the castle city, he felt the stares and eyes of the people around him. He heard whispers and gossip as eh strolled past.

"when did they come back?" one woman said fearfully

"I'm not sure, but isn't he with the queen?"

"no, the queens friend is smaller...and he just ran through here."

"maybe its his dad or brother."

the mage looked around , but didn't pay much attention to them. He wanted to find that little mage, and find out what he really was. He walked through the square to the gates of the castle and two female guards barred his pass.

"halt! None may enter without the king or queens permission!" the mage stepped back. He didn't know the queen, or the king for that matter.

"um...can i ask her permission?" he asked a bit innocently,and the older guard on the right started to laugh.

"oh thats a new one. Go on boy, and don't come back unless you have something to show you can get in!"

"he can come in with me." the little mage said, walking up behind him. The guard on the left bent over and said "are you sure you want him in there with you?" vivi nodded and she pulled a lever, opening the gate.

"eve! What the hells wrong with you!" the older guard yelled.

"well vivi-kuns said he can come in, so mi letting him in. Vivi's a good judge of character." she giggled as vivi blushed bright red. He silently thanked his hat as he took the mage into the castle.

"thanks..." the mage said as they reached the courtyard.

"its nothing, but tell me...who are you?" vivi asked, turning to face him. The mage looked down and swallowed. "um...i...don't know, i don't have a name, and i cant remember any of my past." he said, looking a bit ashamed. Vivi took his hand. "don't worry, I'm the same way...but i have a name, and so should you, so how about we call you..." he looked around for something to call him by. He looked above the gate to the castles entrance and saw one of the big axes. "hmm ax..ax...Axel, no...Alex!" he smiled, looking up at him. Alex blinked.

"A..Alex." he said. He repeated it a few times, letting his new name roll off his tongue. "i like it" he smiled. Even though both of them wore their hats that shrouded their faces, they could tell what teach other was doing. Vivi pulled on Alex's hand and tugged him to the castles doors. "come on, i have a few people i want you to meet."

Alex was a little reluctant to follow him, but after a few tugs, he followed his new friend up the stairs to the queens balcony. As he got up there, one of the Pluto Knights opened the door to the place where Queen Garnet, King Zidane, Steiner, Freya, and Eiko. They all stared at the two of them, and an uncomfortable silence filled the small space.


End file.
